A total of 18 swimmers from the Moab Sea Devils community youth swim team competed at a three-team meet at Price, Utah on Tuesday, July 1.

Host team Castle Valley Barracudas took first place overall with 3,581 points, while the San Rafael Stingrays from Emery County placed second with 1,606 points, and Moab placed third with 1,303.

“We were outnumbered, especially in the relay events,” said Sea Devils coach Penny Richards. “Castle Valley had 21 relay entries and San Rafael had 11, while we just had eight, no more than one at each age level.”

Moab did take first place in one relay event: Rhiannon Hren, 8, London Niesen, 8, Geneva Richards, 6, and Nicholas Hren, 8, teamed up to win the mixed 100-yard freestyle relay for swimmers aged 8 and under. The foursome finished in a time of 1 minute, 37.24 seconds, about seven seconds ahead of the second-place Barracudas.

The Hren twins also did well in individual events, with Nicholas Hren taking first in the 25-yard breaststroke, the 25-yard freestyle, the 100-yard individual medley (IM), the 25-yard backstroke, the 25-yard butterfly, and the 50-yard freestyle. Rhiannon Hren placed first in both the 25-yard breaststroke and the 100-yard IM, and also finished runner-up to teammate Cadence Kasprick in the 25-yard backstroke, a race that had a dozen entrants. Kasprick’s winning time was 24.20 seconds, while Rhiannon Hren finished second in 26.29.

Mary Kimmerle, 13, won the 50-yard freestyle in a personal-best time of 28.93 seconds, and also took first in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1 minute, 15.72 seconds. Kimmerle also edged Moab teammate London Richards, 13, in the 50-yard butterfly, her time of 32.78 seconds coming just over two seconds ahead of London’s time of 34.95. Kimmerle also won the 100-yard IM in 1:15.65, while London placed second in 1:19.88. London Richards took first in the 100-yard breaststroke with a personal best time of 1:23.50.

In the 25-yard backstroke for age 6 and under, Madeline Niesen, 6, of Moab won with a time of 36.25, barely ahead of runner-up Geneva Richards’ time of 36.52. Geneva Richards won the 25-yard freestyle in a time of 26.16, while Niesen placed second.

Also for Moab, Drake Hackney, 16, won the 50-yard butterfly and took third place in the 50-yard freestyle.

In addition, River Richards, 15, took first place in both the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard IM. In the 50-yard butterfly, she placed third with an initial time of 38.35 seconds, nearly a half-second better than her previous personal best. In the very next race, Hackney was scheduled to compete alone in the 50-yard butterfly for boys 15-18, so River Richards elected to swim the race again so that Hackney would have some competition. Hackney won the race in a time of 32.76, but Richards shaved an additional four seconds off her personal best, posting a time of 34.54 the second time around. Although her improved time in the second race didn’t change her third-place finish among the girls her age, Richards said she surprised herself.

“I didn’t think I could knock off that much time, especially swimming back-to-back like that,” she said.

Also for Moab, Indiana Richards, 9, took second in the 25-yard butterfly with a time of 24.77. Emree Olsen, 11, placed third in both the 50-yard breaststroke and the 50-yard butterfly. Olsen also tied for third place with 12-year-old teammate Kiersten Kimmerle in the 50-yard freestyle, with both girls recording a time of 38.38.

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